Stokes in Peru

Hello again everyone~ It has been awhile since you've heard from me, hasn't it? My apologies for the lengthy time between posts on the blog, but Marianella and I have settled into a pretty mundane routine since we visited Parracas Reserve. Mundane in the sense that we are both currently working-Marianella full time with her class of vivacious first graders and myself on a part-time basis at Colegio Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the American school in Lima where I have been hired. I will begin working full-time in August, so currently I have been going in a few times a week to meet some of the students and parents, attend meetings, and get an overall feel for the job. It's a nice way to break into the job and should set me up pretty well when I do start full-time. With our weeks devoted to work, we have cut back on our exotic travel schedule. We did have a nice break in the schedule last week, with school and many businesses in Peru closed from Thursday through Sunday due ...

Greetings again everyone~ It has been quite awhile since I've updated the blog. That was due in large part to my trip back to Minnesota between mid January to mid February, but we've also experienced issues at home with our computer, so I'm relying upon Marianella's work laptop for now and figured I better get you all updated while I had the opportunity (rather than whittle my time away playing online Sudoku-be forewarned, it's quite addictive!) As stated I was back in Minnesota for about a month, and I happened to arrive on the coldest day not only this year, but for the last several years. It took a bit to get my system adjusted, but fortunately, a winter thaw arrived shortly before I returned to Peru, pushing tempertures up into the 40's and making my readjustment to Peru's summer not so severe. I was happy to get a lot accomplished when I was home, plus I was able to spend quality time with family & friends. If I wasn't able to see you while home...

Greetings and salutations everyone~ I hope life is treating you all well and that you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's with your loved ones. This was my first holiday season not spent in the Upper Midwest, and the traditions I found in Peru vary somewhat from the States. What didn't vary was the presence of family during these holidays and Marianella and I had a great time over the past couple weeks. We spent Christmas at Marianella's parents and then flew off to Southern Peru to visit many of Marianella's cousins, aunts, and uncles for New Year's, plus a few days. I have a lot to cover in this blog, so I'll break it down by event: Christmas As Marianella and I drove towards her parents' home on Christmas Eve, I was having a difficult time getting my mind around the fact it was Christmas. Seeing that I was wearing a T-shirt and shorts and had my window rolled down, you may understand the difficulty. Upon arrival at her parents' home, the fe...